1. Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a data transmission apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for generating a TCP/IP packet of diverse data and transmitting the TCP/IP packet through a USB interface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Diverse electronic devices may be embedded with an operating system (OS), and thus may provide diverse functions. Universal serial buses (USBs) are frequently used as an interface for data communication between diverse electronic devices. The USB supports fast and convenient connection between devices. For example, when peripherals are connected to a personal computer using a USB, the user can access all the peripherals using a single interface without installing software or hardware. Thus, the user is provided with convenience of use and with compact electronic devices t.
Ethernet over USB may be used, in which the USB is used as a physical medium, but actual transmission is performed using a transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) packet.
FIG. 1 illustrates a data transfer method of a data transmission apparatus through Ethernet over USB.
The data transmission apparatus receives diverse data such as content data and control data, and subsequently generates a TCP/IP packet for both the content data and the control data using a TCP/IP driver 10. The data transmission apparatus processes the TCP/IP packet using an Ethernet driver 20 and an Ethernet Emulation Model (EEM) driver 30 so that the TCP/IP packet may be transmitted through an USB interface 40. Lastly, the data transmission apparatus transmits the TCP/IP packet to an external device through the USB interface 40 in a bulk transmission scheme.
Regardless of the type of data, all the data are processed into a single TCP/IP packet and are transmitted to an external device in a bulk transmission scheme.
If there is no traffic in the data transmission apparatus when data needed to be urgently processed, such as control data, are transmitted, the data transmission apparatus can transmit the urgent data within a limited period of time. However, if traffic of the data transmission apparatus is increasing, the urgent data may not be transmitted to the external device promptly. Accordingly, a solution is required.